The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Sheep => Topic started by: waterbuffalofarmer on July 23, 2015, 04:47:02 pm
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I dosed and moved my two pet lambs to be with the rest of the flock, a few days ago. Well yesterday I looked out the window and they had appeared back in the field they grew up in, note they were three fields away, they had found holes in the fences and had navigated their way back to the field they grew up in. All I have to do is find the holes they found and stitch the holes up with wire, yet another job added to my list. Am not going to put them back with the flock though as I got quite emotional over them finding their way back to the place of their birth, that I want to keep them near to the house so I can see them every day. I know right am a bit of a softy the thing is I can't let the pet lambs go back into the flock as I love having them around so I can see them and pet them every day. ::)
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They're not stupid - they just think differently to us ;)
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They're not stupid - they just think differently to us ;)
They think like sheep, which is sensible, as they are sheep. It would be stupid of them to think like humans, as they are not humans. lol
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Yes, but then to get around that I have to think like a sheep even though I am not one. Yet somehow this is ok?
I fear I may be going mad ::) .
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Our pet lambs are with the flock now, but it's still lovely when they run over bleating happily and come for cuddles. They've been weaned ages, so it's not milk they want. I'd never realised how very affectionate sheep are. Even our 4 year old wethers come for scratches and cuddles. :)
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Yes, but then to get around that I have to think like a sheep even though I am not one. Yet somehow this is ok?
I fear I may be going mad ::) .
If I want to make BH mad, I tell him, when the sheep are frustrating him by not going where he wants them, that he's got the opposable thumbs and the supposedly superior brain, so how come he can't outthink them and get them to think they want to be where he wants them to be? :roflanim:
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who ever said sheep were stupid?
eeeerm... Me? Every day??
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Yes, my Dad likes to wind me up similarly - "You mean you spent all day trying to outwit a fish, but failed?"
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Yes, but then to get around that I have to think like a sheep even though I am not one. Yet somehow this is ok?
I fear I may be going mad ::) .
Womble, and I say this gently :hug: You are mad :roflanim:
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Takes one to know one DL ;)
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True..true :)
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Some of my neighbours comercial lambs were put in another neighbours field for grazing about half a mile away. They were there for a month and then someone left a gate open into another field which wasnt secure so they left. Through the new field, across a neighbours land, through the garden and down the drive, along the road, through another field and back to their home farm. It was two days before anyone even noticed.
I dont find them stupid at all, quite the reverse but the more timid breeds are more inclined to blind panic and no one is sensible when they are fleeing in terror. But then I have had years of training animals from horses to rabbits so this idea of "seek first to understand and then be understood" comes naturally. All my animals get trained as I would a dog with commands, body language, tone of voice and hand signals. I didn't really notice that I did this until OH and I both lost our voice earlier in the year and managed to get the sheep and lambs moved about and sorted out each day with a mixture of waving, clapping and pointing.
I used to think chickens were stupid as the ones I had met on livery yards seemed to be. But when I kept my own I learnt to understand them and communicate with them. I became such a convert I published a book.
I am currently seeking to understand ( and socialise ) 6 Norfolk Bronze turkey poults. They are soooo different from brooding chicks, it's fascinating!
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I agree, sheep are certainly not stupid and have excellent memories which is why they can be turned out onto moorland and, with thousands of acres to roam in know exactly where home is. How many humans can do that?
Buffy, I would be very interested in your book, can you give me details?
Also your quote "first seek to understand and then be understood" is a life lesson to us all, I will explain it to my 11 year old grandson who has low spectrum autism and is often upset by other children's attitude to him.
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Devon
my book is called Talking Chickens and is available from Amazon or direct fro my publisher via the link on my blog. Seek first to understand is one of Steven Coveys 7 habits of Highly Effective people (also available from Amazon) I must confess I havent read the book but my other favorites of his recommended habits is Begin with the end in mind and think win win.
There is a Steven Covey book for teens that you may want to read with him.
But back to the theme of the thread. I find my sheep incredibly easy to train and they learn their names and simple routines and commands very quickly as lambs. They remember experiences very well so I always use food reward as part of unpleasant experiences such as vaccinations and drenching. I find that I am forgiven in seconds and the trust remains in tact.
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I am currently seeking to understand ( and socialise ) 6 Norfolk Bronze turkey poults. They are soooo different from brooding chicks, it's fascinating!
Turkeys are much calmer than chickens, far less pecking order stuff - a bit of neck twirling and hissing and it's all over in ten minutes with no blood spilled. If you want to get their attention call like a female poult - whistle three falling notes then one ascending. If you whistle a single long note they'll stand still (hawk alert and the stags will gobble). Mine aren't that interested in corn so difficult to train to call. Oh, and if you upset them when you pick them up they have a tendency to void their bowels in a projectile manner. Grab them by holding them at the top of each wing. Like geese their wings are very strong when mature.
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Thanks Marches,
I was trying out a few vocal sounds on them this morning. A whistle to mimic their chirping and the one that intrigued the most was making a popping sound with my lips.
The chip,chip,chip sound that I make for my chicks is lost on them as is tapping anything of interest with my fingernail to mimic mum alerting them to food. A grass sod in a tray has caused a stir with them this afternoon though I have read that they should not be exposed to grass or soil until 3 months old as their immune system will not be fully developed.
Sorry for diverting this thread I will submit a post about turkey behavior on another board
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Loving this post, really interesting, l am also in agreement that sheep are not stupid. Mine also come when called and love having a rub and cuddle :love:
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They aren't stupid and indeed, when not panicked into acting as a flock they show a lot of interesting and intellegent social behaviour.
I saw a fascinating thing once: a hill ewe had lost her lamb in a bog and stood all day bleating for it. I happened to be riding past in the evening and watched while a group of 3 or 4 ewes with lambs looked down at her from the ridge above, went nose-to-nose and then one peeled off, walked down to the grieving ewe, greeted her and they stood looking out over the bog together for a minute or two. Then the visting ewe turned and walked up the hill with the other quietly following. They reached the still-watching group, greeted the grieving ewe and all trundled off over the hill. It was very touching. I imagine that would have been a family group of several generations.
I've heard that these families will also naturally adopt orphaned lambs from within their group, but I've never seen it.
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Hev,
thats an interesting story and makes me think that those of us who see this type of behavior are the ones who have the patience and perception to observe it. I don't find it difficult to accept that animals have the ability to communicate, remember, associate sounds with positive or negative results, be resourceful, work things out, learn from each other etc.
I do find it difficult to accept that there are people who think animals are stupid. Or who put every behavior down to instinct or "cupboard love". Sadly in our society dogs seem to be regarded as the most intelligent of animals and everything else seems to be judged against them.
I watched a programme once where the producer aimed to discover weather our cats "loved" us. Now there is a whole debate to be had about weather you can even quantify or measure "love" in humans let alone dogs or cats. However the test was that an owner left its dog in a room with a neutral observer and was greeted by the dog when he re entered as a returning member of the pack. Conclusion - A dogs wagging tail and the instinctive behavior designed to encourage a hunting pack member to regurgitate food = love. The same experiment was done with a cat who greeted its owner as a cat would, respectfully from a distance by raising its tail and diverting its gaze. Conclusion.....cats dont love us like dogs do.
So until monkeys can herd sheep, dolphins can sit on command, elephants can lick our faces and sheep can fetch our slippers............., :huff:
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Indeed. Pack/flock/herd animals will always show more response to other individuals than solitary or loose group animals like cats.
And the measure of intellegence works on the basis and assumes humans are the pinnacle of intellegence anyway and that desirable signs of intellegence are those that humans display. Very circular.
I often wonder at the ability of dogs (and probably other animals, but dogs seem most studied) to understand human language: both vocal and body language and the comparative inability of humans to understand dog language. If we're so darned intellegent and animals are so stupid, why is it they have to learn our language and we don't do a Dr Doolittle and speak theirs?
Animal behaviour and especially communication has always fascinated me.
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I think Einstein had it right except in the case of animals, a fish wouldn't actually be bothered, but human observers would assume stupidity.
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Apparently we humans tend to focus on a persons right eye / read the right side of their face rather than taking in the whole.
I saw an experiment once where various animals such as apes etc were shown large images of human faces and apparently dogs are the only animal who read the right side. They have spent so many years living closely with us and being social/ group animals themselves have learnt to communicate with us well.
As you say it's a shame we havent bothered to do the same. Bared teeth and showing the whites of your eyes is a warning of aggression in a dog. In a human its called a smile and most dog owners greet their dogs with a smile teeth everyday. Most dogs respond submissively which we respond to positively and a pattern of behaviour is established.
Dogs are very good at learning to communicate with us but most of them seem rubbish at speaking cat ;D
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Looked at your blog Buffy, its great , made me laugh and smile. Its lovely to see a person who loves every minute with their animals. We get so much from them and they ask so little in return ( most of the time) :thumbsup:
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Thanks Kelly,
I'm glad you enjoyed it. :excited:
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The key thing with sheep is that they appear to have tremendous spatial awareness. It seems to be ingrained. I first noticed this trait with a pet lamb that I was putting outside in an orchard in the day and bringing in at night. She was on a halter, and I was quite amazed when she led the way back to her pen - at only a few days old. The second time I had parked a car close by which was not there when she went out. She baulked at it, then looked around very carefully, decided she was on the right route after all and went in to her pen. It's as if she had a photographic memory of the route after just one journey. You can see how sheep become " hefted" so easily. Possibly the earlier they experience something the more ingrained it is.
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I have observed the spacial awareness thing too and find that they are very keen to learn and communicate as long as you have the time to understand what they need you to know. I also find the the more experiences that animals or birds have at an early age the more relaxed and inquisitive they are as adults. This makes introducing new routines much less stressful later on.
I have got my young turkeys out of the brooder and into a coop and run already. They have discovered dust bathing in the run, returning to their coop to sleep under the heat lamp if it gets cold and some of them have discovered that when I put something in the red dish its worth investigating ( cos its mealworms ) They get to see the chickens, cats and wild birds as well as learning to perch and snooze amongst the straw in the sunny spots.
Nothing like as sparky and quick to learn as chickens or sheep but they learn something in their own time. They dont seem as food motivated as other animals so rewarding them will be interesting.
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Yes it's weird, the turkeys we had were the stoopidest birds ever, but the peafowl (very similar in all respects) are incredibly intelligent. A friend of mine sold a peacock to somebody 20 miles away and it turned up back at her place three days later!
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Yes it's weird, the turkeys we had were the stoopidest birds ever, but the peafowl (very similar in all respects) are incredibly intelligent. A friend of mine sold a peacock to somebody 20 miles away and it turned up back at her
place three days later!
I had this with a dog of mine. I had my first red welsh sheepdog from a neighbouring farm and she was an idiot, she ran after my sheep and wouldn't come back, I would be shouting at the top of my voice for hrs trying to call her back. There was a guy who trained sheepdogs and sold them to hill farms and he saw her one day and asked me if I wanted to sell her. After I'd had a chat, and knew who he was, I agreed to sell her. He bought and took her away that day, in the evening I was locking up the house and saw a red shape on the doorstep, I opened the door and there she was. She had jumped out of the stable, as they mistakenly left it open, and had walked back home (about 5-6 miles) plus it was freezing cold and snowing. I let her in and called the guy, he was amazed and came to collect her, later I i heard she had been sold to a hill farm (in north wales I think) and has done well. When I saw her I wanted to keep her there and then, as the dog I had thought was stupid was not and I had misjudged her. If she's still alive she must be about 15, but I doubt it. :)
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I think it can be so easy to jump to conclusions about stupidity when we dont really understand how others see the world or understand how they think.
One human who is regarded as highly intelligent is Stephen Hawking, he is funny and witty and grasps concepts that few of us can get our heads around. Yet if he didn't have that increadable communication device he would be slumped in the corner of a care home and disregarded as "not all there"
I have my ewes on a friends pasture for the summer to rest my land. We penned them in with electric fence and they were as good as gold. When they had eaten it down we moved the pen to fresh grazing.
My sheep are very quiet and dont tend to bleat unless something is wrong. When I went to check them one day they came running to the fence bleating. I knew that they were telling me they were hungry so I told them I would move them in a couple of days ( they are far from being thin sheep ). The next day some escaped onto the new pasture as they couldnt wait so we brought our fence moving day forward. The following day I walked along the edge of their newly fenced are carrying a bucket. They didn't run to the fence or bleat as they had the day before because they had what they needed.
What intrigued me about their behavior was that they can clearly leave my electric fenced paddock when ever they like if their need is great enough but they respected it as long as their needs were met. And when they did escape they didn't go on the rampage but simply grazed the new area quietly remaining near the rest of the flock. We let the others out to join them and then erected a fence around them.
I realise that I keep a calm and inquisitive breed and that they have more confidence in me and probably communicate more obviously than other breeds as a result but I suppose my point is that just because we dont understand why animals dont always do what we want them to do, it dosent make them stupid....it makes us stupid.
People tell me that sheep are always looking for ways to die but perhaps they get themselves into bother just trying to survive.
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OK, I concede. It wasn't the turkeys that were stoopid; it was me!
We did have issues with the turkeys flying out over the electric netting, so I clipped their wings to stop them. They never escaped again, but then took to roosting on top of their house, 6 feet off the ground. I think they did it just to show me they still could! ;D
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Hmmn,
the roosting in trees then getting eaten by a fox is an occupational hazard of turkeys. I have met some chickens who like to do the tree roosting thing and have to take their chances. I have been training my turkey babies to be ushered from the run into the coop to roost each evening in the hope of establishing an evening routine for when they are out and about. I have also introduced mealworms in a red plastic dish which makes a knocking sound when they peck at it. The plan is to strengthen this association between me tapping the read dish and them getting a reward so that I can get them to follow me to the coop once they are ranging.
I brought 3 kune weaners home today so getting the measure of their tiny piggie minds will be interesting. I am not using food as a reward or hand feeding them as I dont want them to be like some of the cheeky shoe biters that I have met. I am hope to reward them with scratches and tummy rubs instead.
If all this smallholding nonsence gets too much for me perhaps I can open a circus! ;D
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Hmmn,
I brought 3 kune weaners home today so getting the measure of their tiny piggie minds will be interesting. I am not using food as a reward or hand feeding them as I dont want them to be like some of the cheeky shoe biters that I have met. I am hope to reward them with scratches and tummy rubs instead.
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I agree with that philosophy. Pigs are highly intelligent and will readily come for the pleasure of a good scratch, or just to enjoy your company once you have built up a rapport.
I use food to get my poultry to come to me, accompanied by whatever noise they have been trained to respond to. This is after all what they do naturally right from the time the mother hen/turkey/peahen calls them to share the food she's found.
But when have you ever seen a pig, cow, sheep, or equine offer to share its food? So I don't routinely give any of these a treat just for coming to me. I expect them to either come to me, or let me walk amongst them, as appropriate, without dashing off wildly to the furthest corner of the field. And then I reward them by stroking or scratching or just telling them how good they are.
It's like you say Buffy, a case of understanding the animal, and of the animal understanding you, and body language is possibly the best cross species form of communication that we have.
I always remember reading that if an animal doesn't obey, you or act as you would want then it's your fault because it doesn't understand you, ie you haven't taught it properly. So it's no good chasing an equine round a field and blaming the animal because you can't catch it, or pointlessly calling back a dog that won't come. You are just encouraging the undesirable behaviour. Go back to basics, communicate with the animal and gain its trust, and then slowly start again.
Anyway, - sorry - got a bit off subject, but I know you'll love communicating with your pigs. :excited:
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I have really enjoyed reading this thread. People who don't have a natural affinity with animals will struggle to appreciate how complex animal behavour can be. It is all too easy to invest them with human feelings and thought processes, instead of trying to understand how they interact with each other, their environment, and us. I am always amazed at the relationship that "prey" animals, like horses, goats and sheep are capable of developing with humans. The level of trust they are willing to invest that relationship is very humbling and should be a constant reminder to us of the huge responsibility we have to give them the best possible care, and respect.
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I think thats a really good point whitsend.
when people meet my sheep they often say they are like dogs and when I chat happily to them I am occasionally asked " what would you do if they answered you back.
Just because i talk to them dosent mean that I think they understand me. ( heavens sake, I'm lucky if I can get my other half to get what I'm on about half the time let alone sheep!) I do think that they get used to a small number off verbal commands or sounds though which they have learnt to associate with an outcome or reward and learn to respond to a gentle tone over the tone I use when they have broken into the chicken coop and I want them to leave asap.
I dont think my sheep are dogs or humanise as I think this would be very unfair. I see them as the animals that they are and try and see their world as they see it. Attempting to mimic communication that they would recognise, expose them to stimulation and variety and give them the most comfortable, safe, natural and relaxed life that I can.
I do accept however that I am not a sheep so all this interaction is bound to result in an element of humanised rub off too.
I once had a horse who wore a mesh fly visor through the summer months. Every day I would go to his 8 acre field which he shared with other horses and call him to the gate to have his visor removed and a good head scratch before replacing it again. He got used to this and as I mimed the action of putting his visor back on he would obligingly lower his head and wait patiently for me to fasten it securely before the words "see you later" would send him wandering off down the field.
One day however he came to greet me and without his visor and after I had mimed the action of putting his visor on to him a couple of times and showing him my empty hands and asking "where is it?" he turned slowly and ambled off down the field. He followed a different track than usual, one which took him straight to his visor. It was a long way off and in the long grass. He stopped and turned to me before reaching down and picking it up in his teeth. I called him excitedly and and patted my legs enthusiastically for him to bring it back to me and do you know what he did......? He dropped it and waited for me to come to him. Hes a horse not a bl@@dy golden retreiver! What more do you want? :-J
Those of you who are enjoying this thread might enjoy my latest blog ;D
http://www.thechickenwhisperer.co.uk/2015/08/speak-like-sheep.html (http://www.thechickenwhisperer.co.uk/2015/08/speak-like-sheep.html)
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Ah I was waiting for a happy ending there :roflanim: I try not to humanise my animals, as they're animals. They do respond to tone of voice and body language. Is it TRUE that an animal can read fear?
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Yes!
In some ways you can too if you tune in to a situation. It's like you can sense an atmosphere sometimes when you enter a room, or you can tell if someone's in a mood without them saying anything.
If you're close to an animal, or for example sitting on an equine, they can also detect a difference in your breathing or heart rate.
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Horses are easily transmitted to,and they mirror us.
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just been calm around your sheep is sometimes enough for them to get currious - try sitting and reading a book in a field full of sheep - its not unusual for mine to come up - my new castlemilk moorits will try and eat the book, the hebridean rams will stand and wonder if I have food, and the ewes will sit around me and just cud away. When i stand all hell breaks loose.
I dont make a noise - but its clear they know Im the shepherd, I bring food when their is none, fix problems, steal their wool, and often carry buscuits.
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I can sit down near the buffaloes and if my heart is beating too fast I immediately relax because of the slowness with which they chew the cud. Often they put their big heads on my lap and I scratch behind their horns and they go to sleep. :D I agree about sitting down in a field with animals they're very inquisitive. My buffaloes calves walk up behind me and start pulling on my hair, if I sit down too long.
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The level of trust and rapport that we can build with them is incredibly rewarding but I suppose many people just couldnt see the point.
:-[
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Love your Blog ! Your sheep are gorgeous :love: are they Rylands or Southdowns ?
I have Olde English Babydoll Southdowns and they are sweethearts, so layed back .
Will keep an eye on your Blog, many thanks for the input :thumbsup: :sheep:
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The level of trust and rapport that we can build with them is incredibly rewarding but I suppose many people just couldnt see the point.
:-[
Building up a trust with your animals is very important. I was taught to treat my animals almost as if they're extended family. Breeding is very important to me, I go for quality over quantity. I try to balance good temperaments along with milk yield, and all my buffaloes are handled from birth (every day). I find it very important to handle/talk to them because even though they don't understand you the sound of your voice relaxes them and keeps them at ease. Some of my friends don't like the fact I went into farming and can't really see the point to it, but no one but yourself can understand why you went into farming. We don't do it because we have to, we do it because we love doing it. A lot of people who I have spoken to about the buff have come and seen them and love them as much as I do and I love that :) However there are always those who don't understand about what we do. :(
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Thanks Kelly,
glad you like my blog. My sheep are ryelands. I have a white and a coloured flock. I agree with Warter buff that having people appreciate the work that is put in to the breeding selection, quality of meat, type, bloodlines, temperament and in the case of my sheep fleece quality. It takes work and it costs money but not everyone can see the value in it.
But then there is always someone who will offer a cheaper alternative which is probably sufficient for most people. There is not much point selling a well bred, well handled animal who likes a cuddle to someone who doesn't intend to breed good stock or build a relationship with their animals.
I am really enjoying the pig cuddling as you said L RR and the piglets personalities are clearly formed. They are on a restricted area at the moment as I want to let them feel settled into a routine and get to know me before I introduce them to shock of electric fence. Only trouble is there are very few poo free patches to sit with them. They love following me round the pen and if I sit down they settle down too. Today we investigated the water troughs and the wallow and they each had a drink at each stop. Then it was time to lay down and eat cabbage leaves. So I left them to it.
Arn't we lucky :excited:
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Why? Don't you like cabbage? :innocent:
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In a normal herd or flock the highest ranking animals will generally be in the middle (lots of studies have been done in cattle). When I was checking our sheep one day I could hear the MFH blowing his horn in the distance. Just then the hounds crossed the strem and started running up the field and the sheep immediately ran to me and surrounded me. Don't know if this was to protect me or for me to protect them! (The MFH had phoned to warn me they'd be in the area and I'd cleared the Hunt jump which allows them to cut across one of our fields and avoid the lane - I'm happy to help because they take our fallen stock).
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I agree with the middle leader thing and my sheep also come to me for security when the rabbit men are are in the field to reduce the bunny population. I deliberately stand in the field so my sheep feel safe and dont keep running about in panic. If the drag hunt goes by I let them out of the roadside field as it passes and they stand with me. Then follow me back in when its passed.
I think the social / leadership / pecking order is complex in all my animal groups and not a simple domino effect. All my most self assured, independent "leader" birds and animals take a middle or center role and are never bolshie or bullying. My horses were the same. Any animal who questioned their position would receive a measured response that reinforced the message. But most of the time the highest ranking go unnoticed.
I have a my own personal theory that as very few animals feed each other beyond weaning as LRR said. Then providing food establishes some form of relationship hierarchy similar to mother and offspring. Im not sure what that arrangement signifies to them. They know that I am not their mum but the calling them and feeding them routine does establish a relationship beyond cupboard love. And perhaps its the calling that establishes this rather than just the food offer, as people that pour food from the back of tractors dont always seem to establish the same rapport. :thinking:
At the end of the day though I suppose the more time that you spend with them in a calm relaxed manor, reliving the occasional itch, their pain, their hunger and their thirst.Not to mention getting them out of trouble! They've gotta think your pretty great right? ;D
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I think animals associate sounds with food. For example when i start the tractor up the buffalo start running to the fence thinking am gonna put a bale out for them, even in summer sometimes! :roflanim: My point is..... animals associate noises with certain things, routine I guess. I once rescued a sheep from a dog which had cornered her, one of the expensive big dogs you can buy(I think it was a dogue de bordeaux?) anyway I never had a gun with me, but I chased it off by looking really angry and shouting and it ran away. The owners who had lost it were thankful to have it back, but I said to them that it was worrying my livestock and if it happened again I was perfectly within my rights to shoot the dog (I never saw it again). Anyway when I was chasing the dog away the poor sheep (which was a pet) followed behind me and stuck close to me never leaving the back of my legs and was bleating all the time, she then followed me to the gate. I thought that was really sweet :)
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We were out trying to repair the tractor (again!) this evening and the lights and activity in the barn lead to the piglets sitting patiently at their field gate and eventually failing asleep in the grass. It's a warm night so I suppose they would be just fine but I decided to ask them to follow me to their shelter and I crept inside in the dark. The trundled in with me grunting and I threw clumps of straw over them which they seemed to appreciate as they wandered to the back of the shelter and promptly went to sleep. They are soo endearing. I could quite easily have snuggled up with them.
But instead I crept out and tried to remind myself that they are porkers not pets..... :-\
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I agree with the middle leader thing and my sheep also come to me for security when the rabbit men are are in the field to reduce the bunny population. I deliberately stand in the field so my sheep feel safe and dont keep running about in panic. If the drag hunt goes by I let them out of the roadside field as it passes and they stand with me. Then follow me back in when its passed.
I think the social / leadership / pecking order is complex in all my animal groups and not a simple domino effect. All my most self assured, independent "leader" birds and animals take a middle or center role and are never bolshie or bullying. My horses were the same. Any animal who questioned their position would receive a measured response that reinforced the message. But most of the time the highest ranking go unnoticed.
I have a my own personal theory that as very few animals feed each other beyond weaning as LRR said. Then providing food establishes some form of relationship hierarchy similar to mother and offspring. Im not sure what that arrangement signifies to them. They know that I am not their mum but the calling them and feeding them routine does establish a relationship beyond cupboard love. And perhaps its the calling that establishes this rather than just the food offer, as people that pour food from the back of tractors dont always seem to establish the same rapport. :thinking:
At the end of the day though I suppose the more time that you spend with them in a calm relaxed manor, reliving the occasional itch, their pain, their hunger and their thirst.Not to mention getting them out of trouble! They've gotta think your pretty great right? ;D
"as people that pour food from the back of tractors dont always seem to establish the same rapport". :thinking:
No true, the sheeo for the rapport with the tractor rather than the person!
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One of the reasons for Down sheep being so docile is generally held to be that the breed originally grazed the downs (which are actually hills - confusing, eh) during the day and came down to the in-bye land overnight, where their dung fertilised the arable fields. The shepherd was therefore with them all day. I doubt they'd view a quad bike in quite the same way.
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Its funny. I used to keeper on an estate, the sheep were fed from a snacker in the fields by the farm manager on a red quad. . . . . when they saw the keeper (me) with driving a red quad with a hopper on, they would go mad chasing me around the place calling.
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We used to live next to a field of cows. When they saw us come out of the house, they'd panic and run away. Then we'd get into the car and they'd say "Engine! must be food!" and come running. Then we'd say "cows! let's go and say hello to them", then.........
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But instead I crept out and tried to remind myself that they are porkers not pets..... :-\
But then nothing (with animals) is written in tablets of stone. :innocent: